This relates generally to event data recorders and particularly to event data recorders for vehicles.
Event data recorders are well known on airplanes. Typically the event data recorders are called black boxes and are used by accident investigators to determine the cause of airplane accidents. It has also been contemplated that event data recorders may be included in motor vehicles. One aim of these event data recorders may be very similar to those in airplanes, namely crash analysis.
The National Highway Transport Safety Administration has mandated that all light vehicles in the United States manufactured after Sep. 1, 2012 include an event data recorder that records a minimum set of data elements. The electronic data recorders typically store data for a few seconds prior and after unusual events in the car electronic systems.
Current event data recorders under development are proprietary, closed systems often implemented by a system-on-a-chip which records a limited data set coming from the control area network bus of the vehicle. Retrieving data from event data recorders is a cumbersome process, that requires trained professionals connecting proprietary equipment to read out the data.